Just a Tradition
by C3L35714
Summary: Silver doesn't see what the fuss is about the first of January. These people should find a real holiday to celebrate! Everything about it is a big cliché. And tradition? Please. Traditions are all stupid, every last one of them...Right? *2015 Happy New Years! 2015*


*** ~2015~ * Happy New Years! * ~2015~ ***

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, its characters, or its settings.**

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><p>Silver scoffed at the people around him as he made his way around the dancing people in the streets of the ever-busy Johto Region. And today, of all days, was nothing but more festivity. Citizens sang songs of joy and got together with friends and family. It was a long-time tradition, as well as many more that surrounded this holiday. Lights and fireworks went off in his face and ears, surrounding him with the overall celebration.<p>

He hated it. It made him sick.

Honestly, Silver could find nothing so special about today. The first of January, big whoop. There are twelve months in a year; it only proved his point about the general public's intelligence that they somehow failed to see that they could find something just like today twelve more times time in just a single year. Never mind the next year, or the next. Or the next.

Thus his point was proven. People all were under a very strong spell of the power of suggestion. One person says, "Hey, let's throw a party today, and then make it annual!" Um, didn't the very start of a new year used to be heralding the end of the world? What happened to that, when people weren't so...happy about nothing. Although, he pondered, that did seem to be a repeated tradition with this world and these people: find a dumb reason to do something stupid.

But it seemed like everyone else was having the time of their lives. He thought he might have even seen a glance of Lyra and that Dragon Master man. Silver snorted at the thought. That girl who'd he run into so long ago, the clumsy wisp of a girl aiming for the top. The thing was, she'd made it. Lyra Soul, the Champion of Johto, Master of Pretty Much Everything. Yes, he decided. It had just been her on the television. She'd certainly been featured more times than he could count; she and that Lance guy.

By this point in his rather dark train of thought, Silver had left the city and was standing on the edge of the beach. There were mostly-natural stairs made of the boulders there before people. It was a rather private place, at least from where he was hiding out. Only echoes of the parties reached all the way out here. He checked his wristwatch absentmindedly; it was about 11:30. Silver wondered if everything would just end at exactly midnight, after whatever huge show, at least. More likely than not, the remainder of the party-loving people would be still out on the streets. And just as likely, they'd be more than a little tipsy from said parties.

Silver shook his head at their stupidity for being so worked up over such a little thing. At least he still had this view while he was forced to listen to the relentless chatter. The beach only had a few yards of sand; the rest was rock. Leaning against one of said boulders, Silver felt some of the ever-present tension being released from his shoulders. With the nearly full moon casting a brilliant glow on the turquoise-blue water and sand, and the calming lapping of the light waves, Silver felt a rare wash of gratitude that he was alone out here. He even managed a half-serious thank-you to whomever had flung an extra piece of luck his way for once.

"Silver?"

He silently cursed whomever it was for turning the tide on him, so to speak. After a few seconds, Silver heard the owner of the currently quiet voice walk slowly out to come even with him. He forced himself not to look at her, but he did manage to notice a change in outfit. "What're you doing out here, Champion?" Silver asked instead, though managing to take away most of the sting from the sarcasm.

"Thought I might find you out here." Well, that was a surprise. Silver turned his head to his once long-time rival who had grown up and soundly trumped him in every single way.

"Excuse me?" he asked, trying and failing not to notice that her hair had been let down to the middle of her back, the ends curled neatly. The giant hat was no where to be seen, and he made himself look away after his eyes had just registered that she was wearing a dress in exchange for the casual gear.

"I saw you in the city a little earlier," she clarified. "I dropped by around noon." A strand of hair got in the way of her line of sight, and Silver both faintly heard and faintly saw her blow it away from her face. He couldn't help but give a small chuckle of mirth when she tried again before giving up and hooking it behind her ear. "What? Not like I really wanted to wear this."

"Then why are you?" Silver asked, not minding giving the teasing jab. Nor did he mind when she let out a huff of irritation.

"You of all people ought to know that everything has its drawbacks. Lance and the rest of them seem to think that the champion needs to be all dolled-up, even if I'm just visiting a friend."

"Ah, I see. Being champion of an entire region is so glorious that the holders of power decided that you must be charged with the immense penalty of wearing a dress and heels." Then Silver wondered when he'd noticed that she was wearing a dress and slight heels. Or when he'd noticed that she actually looked really good in said outfit.

"Oh, shush," she mumbled, a light blush on her face. "Wasn't my idea." She kicked off her heels, but almost carefully, as if she would need them later.

Suddenly avoiding his gaze, Lyra fiddled with a small box in her hands, and the movement caught Silver's sharp eyes. But he didn't comment. He assumed that she'd gotten it from someone at a party for the upper-classmen in Johto, or maybe even overseas to another region. Then her voice tore his attention away. "So...um..."

Silver raised an eyebrow. He really did have lots of time on his hands, but that didn't mean he wanted to stay out here all night while fireworks were set. They, of course, were done by those who found the need to explode gunpowder three to five hundred people in the air at midnight. Honestly, sometimes he wondered where all these stupid traditions came from.

"I..." Silver glanced over and found Lyra looking like she was struggling to find her words. It was highly amusing. And it truly was to him, even though that was his excuse to find out what she was really wearing. It was a long dress, one that only barely skimmed the sand below her feet. The red on Lyra's dress was the same as on her everyday clothes, but to Silver, it didn't quite look the same. The outfit had tank-top sleeves of looser, lighter material, and the same fabric gathered at the sides of her shoulders as well, attached to the top-line of the dress bodice and leaving her shoulders bare. Slightly cinched under the bust-line and around the waist, it was a form-fitting but still appropriate dress.

"Hey!" Slender fingers snapped in his face, and Silver blinked. Lyra put her hands on her hips. "I've called your name twice," she accused, and Silver felt a brief flush of heat on his face.

"Sorry," he apologized off-handedly, and she huffed again.

"Well, alright. Are you listening now?" she asked, putting an emphasis on the last words. Silver raised an eyebrow again. "I...brought you something."

Silver blinked again. "I'm sorry; repeat that?"

Lyra blushed and fiddled with the box in her hands again. "Well...I..." Then she shook her head slightly, almost in admonishment. "Here. Open it," she told him, and presented him with the box.

Silver took it hesitantly. Receiving presents was not something in his memory, short or long term, and he had certainly not expected it. Especially from Lyra Soul. "I...Thanks," he managed, running a finger down the red, silk ribbon. He pulled at it slowly, not entirely comfortable with any of it. Carefully dropping the ribbon into a pocket, he undid the clasp then pulled open the dark navy box. The inside was lined with velvet, or at least, it felt like it. And in a secured nook, laid some sort of charm.

It was a crystal, lightly blue colored, diamond with very pronounced corners. An emerald on either side hid a knot from an indigo ribbon, a loop on one side and ending in tassels on the other side. The crystal was about two and a half inches long by itself, the loop the same.

Silver looked up at Lyra in a stunned surprise. He opened his mouth to respond, but only closed it and swallowed. "What do you think? It's called a Shiny Charm...I got it during a visit to Unova," Lyra said, almost shyly.

Finally managing to control his own voice, Silver spoke in a rather subdued voice. "I..." He swallowed his words and tried again. "I really like it. I like it a lot. Thank you."

A smile lit up Lyra's face, and it spread to her eyes. "I've one more thing for you."

"But I don't have anything for you," Silver protested. He'd never given presents before, just as he'd never gotten any. It just wasn't a tradition he followed.

"That's alright," she said, and held out her balled-up hand, palm down. Silver held his under hers just as hesitantly as before, and she dropped something cold and smooth into his hand. He turned his hand over carefully, and something golden winked up at him. "A Relic Gold. It's a coin that people used more than four hundred years ago."

He was speechless. "I...Lyra, how-"

"Unova, remember? I was only there for a couple days, but I hit everywhere I could after the meeting."

"But...for me?"

"Of course, silly!" She gave a little laugh and a half-smile, eyes twinkling. "Who else?" He didn't have an answer to that. Then her confidence drained a bit. "Do you really like it?" Somewhere in the city behind them, the minute warning went off. Silver checked his watch. Sure enough; 11:59.

"I really do," he admitted. "It's the nicest thing anyone's ever given me. Really." A feeling that he'd had none of several years ago (when they'd met) washed over him. "I just wish I had something to give you back. Lyra looked down and scuffed her heel against the ground. A blush stole over her face again, but it was faint. Silver looked at her meticulously. "What are you thinking about?"

Thirty seconds left.

"Oh...just..." Lyra hesitated, and Silver tilted her head up to him: it was that much harder to lie to someone when all you could see was his face.

Fifteen seconds left.

"What is it?" he insisted. "You gave me more than just these brilliant things. Because you gave me more than a _thing_. Do you get it?"

Ten seconds left.

Lyra nodded. "I really do," she said, her own voice oddly quiet. Making a split decision, she drew Silver closer to her. "And I think that you can really give me something back."

Five seconds.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice somehow dropping to a whisper. She was really very close now, and he could only see her deep brown eyes.

Four seconds.

"Anything?" she asked, a bit of her own hesitation returning.

Three seconds.

"Anything," he confirmed, though only part of him was following the conversation.

Two seconds.

"Happy New Year, Silver." Lyra pressed her lips against his, eyes closing.

Silver's own closed by themselves, and it took a few seconds for him to register what was happening. Then he gave in and kissed her back, ignoring the fireworks that exploded overhead in a beautiful decoration. There were enough inside his head to make up for it anyway. Lyra, realizing that he wasn't just returning the kiss out of obligation, threw her arms around his shoulders. Though he didn't know how or what he was doing, Silver's arms snaked around her and he hugged Lyra back.

It was rather past New Year's Eve when he broke the kiss. "I think," he started, then moistened his lips a bit, "...that _that_ is a tradition that I might just have to consider taking up."

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><p><strong><strong>Happy New Years! I wish you and your family good fortune and happiness for the dawn of the new year. :)<strong>  
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****Reviews and PMs are appreciated! :)****

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><p><strong>Edited for minor vocabulary. -14/15**


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